after the dream [potentially triggering]

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after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby operator kos » Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:01 pm

(WARNING: contains descriptions and depictions of both ritual abuse and mil-lab trauma-based mind control experiments, along with coercive sex-work, drug addiction, mental illness, human trafficking, child abuse, bloody violence, and other generally dark and disturbing topics)

This year I've been working on a new graphic novel project, and I feel like the time has come to share it with the RI community.

After the Dream is a dark, realistic science-fiction series about the damaged survivors of a covert program which has used unwitting humans as test subjects in the pursuit of mind control, truth serums, and psychic powers. While the program has failed to produce any psychic or super-powered individuals, it has left a trail of broken lives and minds in its wake. The series follows two parallel story arcs, a young schizophrenic woman named Rhyda Izguerra in the present day, and a young man named Balum in a dystopian near future. Rhyda is aided by repentant drug researcher Gregory Kincaid, and together they work to save other victims of the illicit experimentation. Balum, meanwhile, is taking a more proactive approach, rallying various dissidents to directly attack the shadowy corporation which is behind the program. After the Dream is a work in progress which is envisioned to be a 24-issue monthly series.


I'd be honored to receive any feedback from the bright and inquisitive minds here. I realize there will probably be a certain amount of concern about muddying the waters about this topic with fiction, but please accept that my intentions at least are good.

The entire first issue is currently available online, and I hope to have 2&3 up within a couple of months. The website is [url]afterthedream.yolasite.com[/url]. It isn't meant for dissemination to the general public at this point, but regular posters may PM me for the required login and password. Excerpts will be posted below in this thread.

Lastly, if anyone has connections in the comic book publishing industry, help a brother out! I plan on sending out submissions before the end of the year.
Last edited by operator kos on Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby operator kos » Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:04 pm

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Rhyda Izguerra has had a difficult life. She was brought into America from Mexico illegally as an infant, and never knew her parents. Her father's identity is a mystery, and her mother committed suicide shortly after Rhyda was born. Now she lives with her grandmother Maria, and Maria's partner Chamile in a shoddy duplex in Hartford. Rhyda is working as a stripper and has lately been developing an increasing dependence on cocaine to cope with the disturbing visions which have haunted her since childhood.

Once an unassuming IT consultant, Jonas DeSantis joined the army after witnessing first-hand the September Eleventh attacks in New York. His computer skills and fierce determination quickly earned him a place in military intelligence, and by 2002 he had begun a four-year tour in Afghanistan. Jonas' unit was tasked to assist a mercenary squad to hunt and engage Taliban forces. Initially thrilled to be working with the the elite commandos, Jonas began to question their motives and integrity after witnessing their indiscriminate use of chemical weapons. After some snooping, Jonas uncovered the unsavory reality behind the mercenaries' involvement in the war. They were involved in drug smuggling and possibly even human trafficking on behalf of a shadowy private corporation called Advanced Intelligence Services. Upon returning stateside, Jonas sought out Gregory Kincaid, a man who apparently knew a great deal about the sinister company's business.

Kim Dee is a firebrand young anarchist who eats and breathes to fight The Man. A Jane-of-All-Trades, Kim takes care of an apartment complex full of broken individuals who have survived horrific experiments carried out by AIS. In her spare time she sings in a Hartford-based trip-hop band called The Conspiranoids.

Gregory Kincaid was once a Timothy Leary groupie, juggling a quest for psychedelic enlightenment with a dual doctorate program in organic chemistry and neuroscience. In the late-70's, Gregory discovered a rare plant in Guatemala from which he synthesized a potent dissociated drug he named Adonai. Gregory was abruptly introduced to the dark side of parapsychology when his partner, John Crohn, shared the discovery with AIS and the company soon integrated the drug into their experiments in mind control. Initially curious about the possibilities and implications of their research, Gregory quickly became horrified by the inhumane methods the company employed. Today Gregory has spent over thirty years mounting a one-man crusade to expose AIS and salvage the lives they have casually destroyed.
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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby operator kos » Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:08 pm

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After the Dream 01
FACELESS
part 1 of 3


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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby operator kos » Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:11 pm

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After the Dream 02
FACELESS
part 2 of 3


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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby operator kos » Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:12 pm

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After the Dream 03
FACELESS
part 3 of 3


work in progress... more to come...
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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby semper occultus » Mon Jul 05, 2010 8:59 am

Hey kos !

I can't really claim any contacts in the industry as such but I was friends at primary school with this bloke :

http://www.nickabadzis.com/

per his blog I think he's recently moved to the US & he's a pretty nice sort - I don't think he'd spit in your eye if you sent a begging e-mail for any input or contacts .

best of luck mate ! :thumbsup001:
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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby Project Willow » Thu Jul 08, 2010 4:08 am

Big Birthday Bump
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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby Free » Thu Jul 08, 2010 8:12 am

OMG. Fantastic! Just saw this. Only had time to glance at it but will read it all later. Thanks OK for tackling this topic. Can't wait to read the whole thing.
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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby operator kos » Wed Jul 28, 2010 2:56 pm

thanks folks... here's an excerpt from the third issue which may be of interest...

[Third and final warning: I said there would be some disturbing images. This is where it starts.]

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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby operator kos » Wed Sep 15, 2010 4:52 pm

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The third issue is finally done and has been uploaded to the website, so check it out if you'd like.
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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby operator kos » Sun Dec 26, 2010 6:27 pm

Issue 04 is still in the works, but here's an excerpt from 05...
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After the Dream 05
Bad Blood
Part 2 of 3


context: The main character, Rhyda, has agreed to be put into a hypnotic dream world to tackle her cocaine addiction. Horace Wells is an imaginary friend from Rhyda's childhood. There is a statue of him in Bushnell Park, along with a statue of the goddess Nike.

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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby operator kos » Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:48 pm

Update: Dozens of submissions later, I have found myself without a publisher for this project. I guess this is hubris, but I'm honestly a little surprised. I figured that with the modest success of my previous graphic novel, I'd be able to find some sort of small, indy publishing company interested in picking this up.

But, all is not lost. I've been doing lots of research, and it seems that there is actually a viable publishing realm online for this sort of thing. There are are literally tens of thousands of webcomics going out there, and while 90% of them are not so impressive amateur projects, there are also a good number which look as good as anything in print. With enough readers, they're actually able to make a little money via ad revenue as well. The content itself is generally free.

I don't expect to make any money this way, but I'm hoping to bring in enough to at least mostly offset my expenses (I pay my artists up front). I'll be putting in 10-20 hours of unpaid work a week to keep the project going, but I'll have to believe that it's worthwhile. Although it's a fictional story, I'm hoping to use it to shine a light on some of the darkest parapolitical realities of our day.

The actual site is scheduled to launch April 15th, although I do have a placeholder page in place at http://www.afterthedream.net/. You can become a fan of it on Facebook if you'd like to help spread the word.

I don't know if any of this is particularly interesting, but I just wanted to take a minute to share where I'm at, and to thank those here who have helped me out thus far.

for real this time...
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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby Project Willow » Wed Mar 09, 2011 4:22 pm

Thanks so much for your work OK. I'm sorry about the publisher problem.

I will do all I can to spread the word, perhaps with a tease and then a larger effort after the material is posted in April.
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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby LilyPatToo » Wed Mar 09, 2011 10:14 pm

I'm amazed too that this project wasn't picked up by a publishing company. Not sure it's related, but it might be: I just had a romantic suspense manuscript with a mind control program backstory rejected and have had puzzled/confused reactions from other authors to the subject matter, no matter how carefully it was set out for them. This included detailed synopses (with backstory) for writing classes. This makes me wonder how much of the problem is due more to a half-century of disinformation and MSM silence on the historical mind control programs than to our writing...? (and please know that I'm not seeking here to "blame it all on the industry"--it might also be due to lack of writing experience in my case...though not in operator kos' case--I've got a copy of his first one and it's a professional quality book)

But I'm not giving up and I'm glad that you aren't either operator kos. This subject has been touched upon here and there by other writers of popular fiction, but in my field I've noticed that only *established authors* have succeeded into making it into the bookstores. This may be due to the cred they have with their editors, IOW. So I'll "like" After the Dream on facebook and anywhere else that I can help--just let me know.

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Re: after the dream [potentially triggering]

Postby justdrew » Wed Mar 09, 2011 10:25 pm

you may be able to self publish and get it listed on ipads/kindles/etc I know it works for text, not sure about graphic novels/comics.
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